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Public
Meeting to be Held on Future Development of Liberty State Park
The Department of Environmental Protection's Division of Parks and Forestry
is hosting a public meeting at Liberty Science
Center on January 27 to present proposals for the future use of
undeveloped land at Liberty State Park. The public meeting will be held
at the Liberty Science Center's Joseph D. Williams' Theater from 1:30
-4:00 p.m. Parking is free.
The Division of Parks and Forestry will present proposed plans concerning
the future use of the park's remaining 251 acres of undeveloped land which
is located in the park's interior at the site of the former railroad yard.
While most of the area will be accessible by trails and remain undeveloped,
there are several alternatives for the perimeter of the site.
These alternatives were proposed and reviewed by the Liberty State Park
Interdisciplinary Planning Committee, which has been guided by Governor
Whitman's commitment that the center portion of the park will be left
as a natural area. The Interdisciplinary Planning Committee was organized
by the division and is made up of representatives and leaders from a number
of organizations and the surrounding community (a listing of representatives
is provided at the end of the advisory).
The alternatives include:
- Alternative 1: Making Connections - This alternative assumes
that the highest priority is natural resource protection and that land
use at the boundary of the site should be restricted to a passive trail
system. Recreational opportunities in this alternative would include
hiking, biking and nature observation along the trails.
- Alternative 2 - Exploring Themes - This alternative proposes
that the perimeter be more than passive trails. The area could be developed
to promote certain park themes (i.e.: harbor ecology, cultural history
or transportation). Fields along the perimeter could be maintained for
unstructured recreational activities, however facilities for structured
sports would not be provided.
- Alternative 3: A High Activity Feature - In conjunction with
creating a trail system and developing a more active perimeter as in
alternative's 1 and 2, this alternative would include a high activity
feature. Examples of such a feature could include an aquatic center/water
park, ice skating rink, horse riding facilities, or skateboard facility
etc.
The New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry encourages public involvement
in its planning process in order to learn about the concerns, issues,
expectations, and values of existing and potential visitors, park neighbors,
partners, concessionaires, cooperating associations, scientists and scholars,
and other government agencies.
For more information about the public meeting, please call the New Jersey
Division of Parks and Forestry's Trenton Office at 609-984-0610.
DIRECTIONS: Liberty Science Center is accessible from the New Jersey
Turnpike, exit 14B-Jersey City. From the exit, follow the signs to Liberty
Science Center.
Members of the Liberty State Park Interdisciplinary Planning Committee
include representatives from the Friends of Liberty State Park; the city
of Jersey City; the county of Hudson; the Liberty State Park Development
Corporation; the Liberty State Park Conservancy; the Natural Resource
Conservation Service; New Jersey Audubon; the Hudson/Passaic Soil Conservation
District; and staff from the Division of Parks and Forestry.
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